Electronic vaping device having formulation level indicator

ABSTRACT

The e-vaping device includes a vaporizer assembly, which includes a heating element, a pre-vapor formulation reservoir, a pre-vapor formulation level indicator including a plurality of discrete indicator segments, and at least one processor. The pre-vapor formulation reservoir may be configured to contain a pre-vapor formulation and the at least one processor may be configured to determine a difference between a first duty cycle of power supplied to the heating element and a second duty cycle of power supplied to the heating element; and adjust the indicator based on the determined duty cycle difference.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of, and claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 120 to, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/858,625, filed on Dec. 29,2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field

One or more example embodiments relate to electronic vaping devices.

Description of Related Art

An electronic vaping (e-vaping) device includes a heating element, whichvaporizes a pre-vapor formulation to produce a vapor to be drawn throughoutlets of the e-vaping device. Electronic vaping devices may bereferred to as e-vapor devices or e-vaping devices.

An e-vaping device further includes a power supply, such as a battery,arranged in the e-vaping device. The battery is electrically connectedto the heating element to power the heating element, such that theheating element heats to a temperature sufficient to convert thepre-vapor formulation to a vapor. The vapor exits the e-vaping devicethrough a mouth-end piece including at least one outlet.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

At least one example embodiment relates to an e-vaping device.

The e-vaping device includes a vaporizer assembly (also referred to as avaporizer section or cartridge), which includes a heating element, apre-vapor formulation reservoir, a pre-vapor formulation level indicatorincluding a plurality of discrete segments, and at least one processor.The pre-vapor formulation reservoir may be configured to contain apre-vapor formulation and the at least one processor may be configuredto determine a difference between a first duty cycle of power suppliedto the heating element and a second duty cycle of power supplied to theheating element and adjust the indicator based on the determined dutycycle difference.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. The description and specific examples in this summaryare intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of an electronic vaping device;

FIG. 2 illustrates cross-sectional view of a power section of theexample electronic vaping device;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example embodiment of acartridge of an electronic vaping device;

FIG. 4A illustrates an example embodiment of a cartridge of anelectronic vaping device;

FIG. 4B illustrates another example embodiment of a cartridge of anelectronic vaping device;

FIG. 4C illustrates another example embodiment of a cartridge of anelectronic vaping device;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example circuit diagram of an example embodimentof an electronic vaping device;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example information flow diagram embedded in ablock diagram illustrating information flow within an electronic vapingdevice according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an indicator initialization processaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an indicator control processaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating another indicator control processaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating yet another indicator controlprocess according to an example embodiment; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a process for updating an indicator of a cartridge.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples ofspecific items, devices, and methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not beemployed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many differentforms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes,well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are notdescribed in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and“having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or items, but donot preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, items, and/or groups thereof. Themethod steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to beconstrued as necessarily requiring their performance in the particularorder discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as anorder of performance. It is also to be understood that additional oralternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another elementor layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” or the like). As usedherein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one ormore of the associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, or the like may be used hereinto describe various elements, items, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, items, regions, layers and/or sections should not belimited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish oneelement, item, region, layer or section from another region, layer orsection. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms whenused herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated bythe context. Thus, a first element, item, region, layer or sectiondiscussed below could be termed a second element, item, region, layer orsection without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatiallyrelative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations ofthe device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depictedin the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turnedover, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements orfeatures would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

A pre-vapor formulation is a material or combination of materials thatmay be transformed into a vapor. For example, the pre-vapor formulationmay be a liquid, solid, and/or gel formulation including, but notlimited to: water, beads, solvents, active ingredients, ethanol, plantextracts, natural or artificial flavors, and/or vapor formers such asglycerin and propylene glycol. U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/602,099 (Publication No. 2015/0313275), U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/333,212 (Publication No. 2015/0020823) and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/756,127 (Publication No. 2013/0192623), whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, discloseexamples of formulation mixtures.

The pre-vapor formulation may include nicotine or may exclude nicotine.The pre-vapor formulation may include one or more tobacco flavors. Thepre-vapor formulation may include one or more flavors that are separatefrom one or more tobacco flavors.

In some example embodiments, a pre-vapor formulation that includesnicotine may also include one or more acids. The one or more acids maybe one or more of pyruvic acid, formic acid, oxalic acid, glycolic acid,acetic acid, isovaleric acid, valeric acid, propionic acid, octanoicacid, lactic acid, levulinic acid, sorbic acid, malic acid, tartaricacid, succinic acid, citric acid, benzoic acid, oleic acid, aconiticacid, butyric acid, cinnamic acid, decanoic acid,3,7-dimethyl-6-octenoic acid, 1-glutamic acid, heptanoic acid, hexanoicacid, 3-hexenoic acid, trans-2-hexenoic acid, isobutyric acid, lauricacid, 2-methylbutyric acid, 2-methylvaleric acid, myristic acid,nonanoic acid, palmitic acid, 4-penenoic acid, phenylacetic acid,3-phenylpropionic acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuricacid and combinations thereof.

The pre-vapor formulation may also or instead be a pre-dispersionformulation in which the formulation may or may not be vaporized but mayalso or instead be dispersed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of an electronic vaping(e-vaping) device 10.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an assembled electronic vaping (e-vaping)device 10, in accordance with an example embodiment. The device 10 mayinclude two major sections: a cartridge 20 and a power section 30.Alternatively, the device 10 may include more than two sections, or thedevice 10 may be one integrated section. The power section 30 may bereusable, or alternatively the power section 30 may be disposable. Thecartridge 20 may be disposable, or alternatively the cartridge 20 may bereusable. The sections 20/30 may be connected to each other via threadedconnections (not shown). Alternatively, the sections 20/30 may beconnected to each other via other structures such as a snug-fitconnection, a detent, a pressure-fitting, a clamp and/or a clasp, or thelike. The cartridge 20 is configured to heat a pre-vapor formulation togenerate a vapor.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of a power section30 of the e-vaping device 10 of FIG. 1 (i.e., cross-sectional view ‘A-A’of FIG. 1), in accordance with an example embodiment. The power section30 provides power to the cartridge 20. As mentioned above, the powersection 30 may be a reusable section of an e-vaping device. In thiscase, the reusable section may be capable of being recharged by anexternal charging device. Alternatively, the power section 30 may be adisposable section of an e-vaping device, such that the power section 30may be used only until the energy from a power supply 60 (describedbelow) is depleted.

The power section 30 is not limited to a battery as a power supply; itmay be any other power supply. The power supply 60 may be a Lithium-ionbattery or one of its variants, for example, a Lithium-ion polymerbattery, Lithium-iron-phosphate, or the like. Alternatively, the powersupply may be a nickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel cadmium battery,a lithium-manganese battery, a lithium-cobalt battery or a fuel cell.The e-vaping device may be operable by an adult vaper until the energyin the power supply is depleted or in the case of lithium polymerbattery, a minimum voltage cut-off level is achieved.

With further reference to FIG. 2, the power section 30 includes a firstconnector part 40 a, a pressure sensor 55, a power supply 60 and acontroller 70 within a housing shell 202. The housing shell 202 may beformed of plastic and may optionally include a metal (e.g., aluminum)coating, although other suitable materials may be used. The controller70 may be a processor, a microprocessor, a controller, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other such hardware.

The controller 70 may connect to the pressure sensor 55, which isoperable to sense an air pressure drop within the e-vaping device andinitiate application of voltage from the power section 30 to a heatingelement in the cartridge 20 when the cartridge 20 is connected to thepower section 30.

When the power section 30 is connected to the cartridge 20, the powersupply 60 is electrically connected with the heating element of thecartridge 20 upon sensing negative pressure within the cartridge 20and/or the power section 30 applied by an adult vaper by the pressuresensor 55. Air is drawn primarily into a central air passage of thecartridge through a mouth-end piece of the e-vaping device 10. Exampleembodiments are not limited to e-vaping devices using a pressure sensorto activate the vaping. Rather, example embodiments are also applicableto e-vaping devices that maybe activated in other ways, such as via apush button, a capacitive button, or the like.

The first connector part 40 a may be a female connector capable ofconnecting to a male connector on another e-vaping element, such as thecartridge 20 of the e-vaping device 10 (see FIGS. 3 and 4A-4C).Alternatively, the first connector part 40 a may be a male connectorcapable of connecting to a female connector on another section of ane-vaping device. A second connector part 40 b may be a male connectorcapable of connecting to a female connector on another e-vaping element,such as the power section 30 of the e-vaping device 10 (see FIGS. 3 and4A-4C). Alternatively, the second connector part 40 b may be a femaleconnector capable of connecting to a male connector on another sectionof an e-vaping device. Distal ends of the connectors 40 a/40 b maydefine threads (not shown) that may be capable of mating with threads(not shown) on another e-vaping section.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an example embodiment of thecartridge 20 of the e-vaping device 10. As with the power section 30,different cartridges or sections can be employed with the presentsubject matter.

Referring to FIG. 3, the cartridge 20 includes the housing 402 anindicator 320, with a mouth-end 315 and a connector end 305. The housing402 may be formed of metal (e.g., stainless steel), although othersuitable materials may be used.

The cartridge 20 heats a pre-vapor formulation contained within thecartridge 20 to generate a vapor capable of being drawn through amulti-port insert 50 in the mouth-end 315. U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/741,254 (Publication No. 2013/0192619), which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, discloses an example dispersionmulti-port mouth insert.

The cartridge 20 includes an inner tube 414, a pre-vapor formulationreservoir 416 for storing or containing a pre-vapor formulation, and acartridge inlet 418. The inner tube 414 defines a passage that isgenerally coaxially positioned in and with the housing 402. Thepre-vapor formulation reservoir 416 may be contained in an outer annulusbetween the housing 402 and the inner tube 414.

In at least one example embodiment, the reservoir 416 contains thepre-vapor formulation and, optionally, a storage medium (e.g., fibrousmedium) configured to disperse and/or regulate a flow of the pre-vaporformulation in the reservoir. For example, the storage medium may be awrapping of gauze about the inner tube. The storage medium comprises anouter wrapping of gauze surrounding an inner wrapping of gauze of thesame or different material. In at least one example embodiment, thestorage medium of the reservoir 416 is constructed from an aluminaceramic in the form of loose particles, loose fibers, or woven ornonwoven fibers, or alternatively the storage medium is constructed froma cellulosic material such as cotton or gauze material or polymermaterial, such as polyethylene terephthalate in the form of a bundle ofloose fibers.

The fibers of the storage medium may have a diameter ranging in sizefrom about 6 microns to about 15 microns (e.g., about 8 microns to about12 microns or about 9 microns to about 11 microns). The storage mediummay be a sintered, porous or foamed material. Also, the fibers may besized to be irrespirable and may have a cross-section that has aY-shape, cross shape, clover shape or any other suitable shape. In someexample embodiments, the pre-vapor formulation reservoir 416 may includea filled tank lacking any storage medium and containing only pre-vaporformulation.

The mouth-end 315 includes the multi-port insert 50, which may includeoutlets 408 that are in fluid communication with the inner tube 414,which extends to an anode 452 of the second connector part 40 b. Theanode 452 may include a through-hole 454, which is in fluidcommunication with the inner tube 414 on one end and in fluidcommunication with air inlets (not shown) on an opposing end.

In at least some example embodiments, the cartridge 20 may furtherinclude a heating element 420, a wick 422, and electrode leads 424 a and424 b, which are provided to electrically couple the heating element 420(alternatively referred to as “heater”) to a power supply when thecartridge 20 is connected to a power supply section such as powersection 30.

When the cartridge 20 is connected to the power section 30, the powersupply 60 may be operably connected to the heating element 420 to applya voltage across the heating element 420. Furthermore, the power supply60 supplies power to a controller on a printed circuit board 72, as willbe described in greater detail.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate example embodiments of cartridges. Referring toFIG. 4A, the cartridge 20 a includes the indicator 320 for displaying anamount of fluid remaining in the reservoir 416 of the cartridge 20. Thedisplayed amount may be analogous to the amount of fluid remaining inthe reservoir 416. In one example, a fully powered indicator 320 mayrepresent a completely full reservoir. Alternatively, a fully poweredindicator 320 may represent a completely depleted reservoir. Forexample, in a configuration of the example embodiment, if the pre-vaporformulation in the cartridge 20 is depleted, the indicator 320 may beconfigured to be fully powered. In another configuration of the exampleembodiment, if the cartridge 20 a is full of pre-vapor formulation, theindicator 320 may be configured to be fully powered. In anotherconfiguration of the example embodiment, if the cartridge 20 a ispartially full, the indicator 320 may be configured to be partiallypowered. The controller 70 controls power delivered to the indicator 320according to an amount of pre-vapor formulation in the reservoir.

In FIG. 4A, the cartridge 20 a is shown having the multi-port insert 50at a mouth-end 315, the second connector part 40 b at a connector end305 and a housing 402. The indicator 320 is longitudinally arranged on asurface of the cartridge 20 a. The indicator 320 may have an elongateshape and extend longitudinally along a lengthwise axis of the cartridge20 a. In the example, the indicator 320 is shown as a single display;however, embodiments should not be limited to this example. Theindicator 320 may be configured to display an analogous representationof an amount of fluid remaining in the cartridge 20 a. Also, theindicator 320 may include a plurality of discrete indicators, each ofwhich may be configured to receive power independent of the otherdiscrete indicators. The amount of discrete indicators receiving powermay be analogous to the amount of pre-vapor formulation remaining in thecartridge 20 a.

FIG. 4B shows another example embodiment of a cartridge.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the cartridge 310 is similar to the cartridge 20a, except that the cartridge 310 includes an indicator 312 at an endthereof. The indicator 312 may encircle the entire circumference of thecartridge 310, partially encircle the circumference of the cartridge310, or intermittently encircle the circumference of the cartridge 310.According to at least one example embodiment, the indicator 312 isconfigured to display a plurality of discrete segments 312 a of theindicator 312, wherein the discrete segments 312 a are configured toeach independently receive voltage from the power section 30 when thecartridge 310 is connected to the power section 30. Each of the discretesegments 312 a may be powered simultaneously with, but independent from,the remainder of the discrete segments. For example, the discretesegment 312 a is illustrated as receiving power and a second discretesegment 312 b is illustrated as being without power. Discrete segmentsare discussed in more detail below.

Various methods may be used to determine an order in which the discretesegments may be powered and will not be discussed in detail herein. Theindicator 312 is configured to provide an indication of how muchpre-vapor formulation remains in the reservoir of the cartridge.Operation of the indicator will be discussed in detail below.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the cartridge 330 is similar to the cartridge 20a, except that the cartridge 330 includes an indicator 322. Theindicator 322 may be monolithic and may include charged material 322 aand uncharged material 322 b.

The indicator 322 is configured to provide an analogous representationof an amount of pre-vapor formulation remaining in the cartridge 330.The indicator 322 may be and is not limited to electronic paper(“E-paper”), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (“OLED”), a Light EmittingDiode, or the like. The indicator 322 may have a singular constructionthat can be configured to indicate an analogous representation of thepre-vapor formulation remaining in the reservoir. Alternatively, oradditionally, the indicator 322 may be a plurality of separated discreteindicator segments 322 a and 322 b. In the case of a plurality ofdiscrete indicator segments the number of powered discrete segmentsreflects the amount of pre-vapor formulation in the cartridge.

The indicator segments 322 a, 322 b may be arranged in a columnlongitudinally along the cartridge, columns of dot-, dash-, orother-shaped lights arranged in rows circumferentially along thecartridge, or the like, The shape of the indicator segment, plurality ofrings, differently shaped distinct objects such as squares, circles,ovals, flowers, stars, trapezoids, rectangles, or the like. Operation ofthe indicator 322 is discussed in more detail below.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of the controller 70, according to anexample embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating an embodiment ofthe indicator control circuit 515 and the heater control circuit 515 inmore detail.

As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 70 includes a microprocessor 502, acomputer-readable storage medium 505, an indicator control circuit 515,a heater control circuit 517, a charge control circuit 520, a batterymanagement unit (BMU) 510 and a pressure sensor 55 on circuit board 72.In one example embodiment, the various components of the controller 70and the microprocessor 502 communicate using an Inter-Integrated Circuit(I²C) interface. In at least some example embodiments, the circuit board72 further includes an external device input/output interface 530 for anexternal device 528. The I/O interface 530 may be a Bluetooth interface,for example.

The controller 70 controls features of the power section 30, as well asthe entire e-vaping device 10, such as controlling the heating element420, interfacing with an external charger 540 and monitoring thepressure within the e-vaping device 10 to determine whether an adultvaper has applied a negative pressure. The controller 70 may behardware, firmware, hardware executing software or any combinationthereof. For example, the controller 70 may be one or more CentralProcessing Units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), one or morecircuits, application-specific-integrated-circuits (ASICs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), and/or computers or the likeconfigured as special purpose machines to perform the functions of thecontroller 70.

For instance, if the controller 70 is a processor executing software,the controller 70 executes instructions stored in the computer readablestorage medium 505 to configure the controller 70 as a special purposemachine.

As disclosed herein, the term “computer readable storage medium” or“non-transitory computer readable storage medium” may represent one ormore devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storagemediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or othertangible machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“computer-readable storage medium” may include, but is not limited to,portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and variousother mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s)and/or data.

As shown in FIG. 5, the power supply 60 supplies a voltage V_(BAT) tointernal circuitry, e.g., the microprocessor 502, indicator controlcircuit 515, the heater control circuit 517, the pressure sensor 55, andthe charge control circuit 520. Based on the voltage V_(BAT) and datafrom the microprocessor 502 to the indicator control circuit 515, theindicator 312 produces a light or series of lights indicates an amountof pre-vapor formulation in the reservoir.

The indicator control circuit 515 and the charge control circuit 520 arecontrolled by the microprocessor 502 and transmit/receive data to/fromthe microprocessor 502.

The heater control circuit 517 is configured to control a voltagesupplied to the heating element 420 based on a pulse-width modulationsignal and an enable signal from the microprocessor 502. For example,when the microprocessor 502 detects that the cartridge 20 and powersection 30 are connected, the heater control circuit 517 is configuredto monitor a voltage across the heating element 420 and a currentthrough the heating element 420. The heater control circuit 517 isconfigured to feedback the monitored voltage and current through theheating element 420 to the microprocessor 502. The microprocessor 502 isthen configured to adjust the pulse-width modulation signal based on thefeedback from the heater control circuit 517. This operation will bedescribed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The BMU 510 monitors a voltage V_(BAT) generated by the power supply 60.If the voltage V_(BAT) is within a set range (e.g., between 2.5V and4.3V), the BMU 510 supplies the voltage V_(BAT) to the microprocessor502. If the voltage V_(BAT) is not within the set range, the BMU 510prevents power being supplied to the microprocessor 502.

The microprocessor 502 includes a voltage regulator to convert thevoltage V_(BAT) to a supply voltage V_(DD). The microprocessor 502supplies the voltage V_(DD) to the pressure sensor 55, the indicator 312and the heater 420.

The pressure sensor 55 may be a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)sensor. The microprocessor 502 uses the MEMS pressure sensor 55including a piezo-electric element 550 to determine whether an adultvaper has applied a negative pressure to the e-vaping device 10. Whenthe microprocessor 502 detects an adult vaper applying a negativepressure, the microprocessor 502 controls the heater control circuit 517to begin a heating process for the heating element 420 to create a vaporby vaporizing the pre-vapor formulation. The pressure sensor 55 isgenerally set on an end of the device and put into a gasket that sealsone side of the sensor from another side of the sensor. The MEMSpressure sensor 55 may be an MS5637-02BA03 Low Voltage BarometricPressure Sensor, for example. An airflow sensor may be used in place ofthe MEMS sensor or in addition to the MEMS sensor.

As shown in FIG. 6, the heater control circuit includes a voltagemonitoring circuit 605 is coupled to the microprocessor 502 viainterface 601 a and the voltage monitoring circuit 605 is coupled to theheating element 420 via interface 602 a. The current monitoring circuit610 is coupled to the microprocessor 502 via interface 601 b and thecurrent monitoring circuit 610 is coupled to the heating element 420 viainterface 602 b. A pulse modulation circuit 615 is coupled to themicroprocessor 502 via interface 601 c, the pulse modulation circuit 615is coupled to the heating element 420 via interface 602 c. The indicatorcontrol circuit 515 is coupled to the microprocessor 502 via interface601 d, and the indicator control circuit 515 is coupled to at least oneof a possible plurality of indicator segments 312 via interface 602 d.The indicator control circuit 515 is coupled to the heater controlcircuit 517 via interface 603. The indicator control circuit 515 iscoupled to the discrete segment(s). The interfaces 601 a, 601 b and 601c may be one or more pins.

The heater control circuit 517 includes the voltage monitoring circuit605 and a current monitoring circuit 610. The heater control circuit 517also includes a pulse modulation circuit 615. It will be understood thatthe heater control circuit 517 may include other circuits as well, butthose other circuits have been omitted for the sake of brevity. Thevoltage monitoring circuit 605 may be a voltage detector. The currentmonitoring circuit 610 may be a current detector.

FIG. 7 illustrates an initialization process. An initialization processmay be triggered in at least one of a plurality of different ways. Forexample, in some example embodiments, an initialization process may betriggered when a cartridge is connected to a power section. In otherexample embodiments, an initialization process may be triggered when anadult vaper applies a negative pressure to the cartridge. In furtherexample embodiments, an initialization process may be triggered when thee-vaping device is moved from a resting position. For example purposesthe example embodiment shown in FIG. 7 will be described with respect tothe diagrams shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The initialization process results in an applied duty cycle for powersupply to the heating element 420. For example, the microprocessor 502obtains a desired power from the storage medium 505. The desired powermay be a design parameter, empirically determined, and pre-stored in thestorage medium 505 by a manufacturer.

Referring to FIG. 7, at step S710, the controller 70, via the batterymanagement unit 710, which may be an analog-digital converter, measuresa voltage of the power supply 60. At step S720, the controller 70determines a duty cycle based on the measured voltage. At step S730, thecontroller 70 applies the duty cycle to the heating element 720.Determination and application of the duty cycle will be explained inmore detail below with respect to FIG. 8. Although example embodimentsare described with respect to the process shown in FIG. 7, any knowninitialization process may be used. U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/191,778, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference,is an example of another initialization process that may be used withexample embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of an indicator control processaccording to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, in step S800, the controller 70 retrieves aresistance value for the heating element 420 from the storage medium505. The resistance value may be stored in the storage medium 505 whenthe e-vaping device is manufactured. At step S805, the controller 70determines a current duty cycle based on the battery voltage. Forexample, the microprocessor 502 obtains a desired power from the storagemedium 505. The desired power may be a design parameter, empiricallydetermined, and pre-stored in the storage medium 505 by a manufacturer.In one example embodiment, the desired power may be 3.9 W. Themicroprocessor 502 also obtains a start resistance R_(start) from thestorage medium 505. The start resistance R_(start) is an assumedresistance for the heater 420. The start resistance R_(start) may be adesign parameter, empirically determined, and pre-stored in the storagemedium 505 by a manufacturer. In one example, the start resistance maybe about 3.5 Ohms. The microprocessor 502 uses the measured batteryvoltage, the desired power and the start resistance to determine theduty cycle (DR) (or duty ratio) according to the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{DR}_{n - 1} = \frac{\left( {{Desired}\mspace{14mu} {Power}} \right)\left( R_{Start} \right)}{V_{BAT}^{2}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where DR_(n-1) is the duty cycle determined using equation (1) andV_(BAT) is the measured battery voltage.

For example, at step S807, the controller 70 determines a power appliedto the heating element 420 based on the current duty cycle DR_(n-1). Themicroprocessor 502 may calculate the applied power (Power_(Applied))using the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{Power}_{Applied} = \frac{V_{Sample}*I_{Sample}}{{DR}_{n - 1}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

where V_(Sample) is the measured voltage and I_(Sample) is the measuredcurrent across the heating element 420.

At step S810, the controller 70 determines a new duty cycle DR_(n) foruse in applying power to the heating element 420. For example, themicroprocessor 502 determines the new duty cycle according to thefollowing equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{DR}_{n} = {\frac{\left( {{Desired}\mspace{14mu} {Power}} \right)*{DR}_{n - 1}}{{Power}_{Applied}}.}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

Additional methods of determining a duty ratio are disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/191,778, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Referring back to FIG. 6 for example, the voltage monitoring circuit 605samples a filtered (e.g., average) voltage across the heating element420 and the current monitoring circuit 610 samples a filtered (e.g.,average) current through the heating element 420. The controller 70receives the voltage measurement from the voltage measuring circuit 605and the current measurement from the current measuring circuit 610. Aswill be appreciated, these and any other measurements received by thecontroller 70 may undergo analog-to-digital conversation. The controller70 may store the measured voltage and the measured current in thestorage medium 505.

The controller 70 stores the new duty cycle in the storage medium 505.The controller 70 continues the application of power to the heatingelement 420, but does so according to the new duty cycle. For example,the microprocessor 502 controls the power modulation circuit 615 toprovide a pulse width modulated power signal to the heating element 420according to the new duty cycle.

At step S820, the controller 70 determines a difference between thecurrent duty cycle and the new duty cycle to retrieve a duty cycledifference (ΔDR). Then at step S830, the controller retrieves a dutycycle threshold ΔDR_(thresh) from the medium 505. The controller 70compares ΔDR with the ΔDR_(thresh) at step S840. For example, if thecontroller 70 determines that ΔDR is less than ΔDR_(thresh), thecontroller 70 will return to step S800. On the other hand, if thecontroller 70 determines that ΔDR is greater than ΔDR_(thresh), thecontroller 70, at step S850 controls the indicator based on the ΔDR.Step S850 will be discussed in more detail below.

As will be appreciated, in a next iteration, the duty cycle DR_(n-1)equals the new duty cycle DR_(n) from the previous iteration. However,if the application of negative pressure has ended, then the processends.

In one example embodiment, a cycle time for the initiation process and acycle time for one iteration of the closed loop power control processmay be set equal. However, example embodiments are not limited to theseprocesses having equal starting time. In one example embodiment, thecycle time may be about 60-80 ms. However, the example embodiments arenot limited to these values.

As will be appreciated, the method of FIGS. 7-8 is repeated during eachapplication of negative pressure. In one example embodiment, after afirst application of negative pressure, a start resistance may bedetermined based on the last measured voltage across the heating element420 divided by the last measured current applied to the heating element420.

In an alternative embodiment, the process of FIGS. 7-8 may be based on adesired voltage for application to the heating element 420 instead of adesired power. The desired voltage may be a design parameter,empirically determined, and pre-stored in the storage medium 505 by amanufacturer. For example, instead of determining the new duty cycleaccording to equation (3), the new duty cycle may be determinedaccording to equation (4) below:

$\begin{matrix}{{DR}_{n} = {\frac{\left( {{Desired}\mspace{14mu} {Voltage}} \right)*{DR}_{n - 1}}{V_{sample}}.}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

In yet another alternative embodiment, the process of FIGS. 7-8 may bebased on a desired current for application to the heating element 420instead of a desired power. The desired current may be a designparameter, empirically determined, and pre-stored in the storage medium505 by a manufacturer. For example, instead of determining the new dutycycle according to equation (3), the new duty cycle may be determinedaccording to equation (5) below:

$\begin{matrix}{{DR}_{n} = {\frac{\left( {{Desired}\mspace{14mu} {Voltage}} \right)*{DR}_{n - 1}}{I_{sample}}.}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart illustrating the indicator controlprocess 850 of FIG. 8. At step S905, the ΔDR determined above in stepS820 is either used directly upon its determination or it is retrievedfrom the storage medium 505. At step S910, a ΔDR_(min) is retrieved fromthe storage medium 505. The ΔDR_(min), for example is a benchmark valueupon which a change in the indicator is executed. Thus, at step S915,ΔDR is compared with ΔDR_(min) to determine whether the benchmark ismet.

If ΔDR is less than ΔDR_(min), the process returns to the start. On theother hand, if ΔDR is greater than ΔDR_(min), the controller 70 changesthe power to the discrete segments by a single increment/decrement unit.A unit, for example, may be equivalent to providing power to a newdiscrete segment 312 a of the indicator 312. Any relationship betweenthe duty cycle and the increment/decrement unit may be determined by amanufacturer. For example, a duty cycle of twenty-five percent may causepower to be directed toward all of the discrete segments 312 a. Further,a duty cycle of seventy-five percent may cause power to be directedtoward one discrete segment (or no discrete segments). Further still, aduty cycle of fifty percent may cause the power to be directed towardhalf of the discrete segments.

In view of the process disclosed herein, it is understood that thecontroller 70 would decrease the power to the discrete segment upondetermining that ΔDR is greater than ΔDR_(min).

At step S920, an increment/decrement counter is increased by one whenthe power is incremented. At step S925, an increment/decrement total,e.g., the total of all increments or decrements occurring since acartridge is stored in the storage medium 505. The increment/decrementtotal counter is retrieved later to determine, after a vaping sessionends and upon initiating a new vaping session, how many discretesegments the controller should provide power for the new vaping session.For example, if there are ten discrete segments on the cartridge 20, andthe increment/decrement counter has a value of five, then five of thediscrete segments can be powered.

A further example embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 10. FIG. 10illustrates a process for updating an indicator of a cartridge having astatic indicator, such as e-paper, after the indicator has beenadjusted, power to the indicator section has been discontinued, andpower to the discrete segment has been reestablished. At step S1005, thecontroller 70 obtains the increment/decrement total (I) from the storagemedium 505. At step S1010, the controller 70 determines whether the dutycycle has changed. If not, the process returns to S1005 and repeats. Onthe other hand, if the duty cycle has changed, at step S1015, thecontroller 70 increases or decreases power to the indicator based on thenew duty cycle as described above.

In some example embodiments, the controller 70 may apply a 100% dutycycle of power to the heating element 420 for a short period of time(e.g., only a few milliseconds). This may occur when the multi-portinsert 50 is attached or at a first application of negative pressure.The controller 70 measures the voltage and current across the heatingelement 420 and determines the resistance of the heating element 420. Ifthe resistance is outside of a desired range, then the multi-port insert50 is identified as invalid, and no further power will be supplied tothe multi-port insert 50. The desired range may be a design parameter,empirically determined, and stored in the storage medium 505. Forexample the desired range may be about 2 to 5 Ohms. The controller 70may be configured to ignore any duty cycles outside of a certain range.For example, duty cycles of one hundred percent and duty cycles of tenpercent may be ignored.

A further example embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 11. FIG. 11illustrates a process 1150 for updating an indicator of a cartridgebased on a relationship between the duty cycle and an amount of power tobe applied to the indicator

A look up table may be stored in the storage medium 505 (e.g., at thetime of manufacturing). The look up table may contain a relationshipmatrix where an amount of power applied to the indicator is related to aparticular duty cycle. The values in the relationship matrix may bedetermined empirically before the e-vaping device 10 is manufactured.Alternatively, the relationship matrix may be uploaded to the storagemedium 505 after manufacture.

As the duty cycle changes, the amount of power to the indicator changesas well. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, at step S1155, themicroprocessor 502 obtains a current duty cycle from the storage medium505. At step S1160, the microprocessor 502 determines whether the dutycycle has changed based on the process discussed above relating to FIGS.8 and 9. If the microprocessor 502 determines that the duty cycle hasnot changed, then the process returns to step S1155. At step S1165, themicroprocessor 502 obtains from a look-up table in the storage medium505 a power to be applied to the indicator based on the current dutycycle. At step 1170, the microprocessor 502 updates the indicator byadjusting power to the indicator.

As noted above, different pre-vapor formulations may be included ine-vaping devices according to example embodiments. According to at leastsome example embodiments, the beginning resistance (R_(START)) maychange depending on the type of pre-vapor formulation that is includedin the e-vaping device. A pre-vapor formulation look-up table may beincluded in the e-vaping device. The pre-vapor formulation look-up tablemay include information specific to a particular type of pre-vaporformulation.

In some example embodiments, the storage medium 505 of the controller 70within the power section 30 may include a look-up table havinginformation on various different pre-vapor formulations. For example, afirst type of pre-vapor formulation may have a resistance that differsfrom a resistance of a second type of pre-vapor formulation. Through,for example, RFID, an EPROM, a resistor, or the like, a cartridge 20 maybe configured to communicate to the processor 502 what type of pre-vaporformulation is contained therein. The processor 502 may retrieve theresistance R_(START) from the look-up table in the storage medium 505for use in determining a fluid level as discussed herein.

In other example embodiments, the processor 502 may determine R_(START)when pre-vapor formulation information is not included in the look-uptable. For example, the cartridge 20 may include data that is indicativeof the resistance of the particular pre-vapor formation within thecartridge 20. The processor 502 may be configured to retrieve (e.g.,directly) from the cartridge 20 data relating to the resistance of theparticular pre-vapor formulation within the cartridge and determine thefluid level accordingly. In these other example embodiments, the datarelating to the resistance of the particular pre-vapor formation may bestored in hardware such as an EPROM or embodied in a resistor having aparticular value at the cartridge 20 to indicate to the processor 502the resistance of the pre-vapor formulation within the cartridge 20.

For example, in some example embodiments, the processor 502 may retrievea resistance value from the EPROM in the cartridge 20 and may use thatretrieved resistance value, as discussed above, to determine a fluidlevel.

Alternatively, in other example embodiments, a cartridge 20 may includean identification resistor that has a resistance value that enables theprocessor 502 to determine a fluid level as discussed herein. Forexample, the processor 502 may apply a voltage to the identificationresistor to determine the resistance value of the identificationresistor and then, as disclosed herein, the processor 502 may determinea fluid level based on the determined resistance value.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

We claim:
 1. An electronic vaping device, comprising: a heating element;a level indicator; and at least one processor configured to executecomputer-readable instructions to determine a duty cycle ratio based onpower supplied to the heating element; and adjust the level indicator inresponse to the determined duty cycle ratio being different from aprevious duty cycle ratio.
 2. The electronic vaping device of claim 1,wherein the level indicator is adjusted according to the determined dutycycle ratio.
 3. The electronic vaping device of claim 1, wherein thedetermined duty cycle ratio is based on a first duty cycle of powersupplied to the heating element and a second duty cycle of powersupplied to the heating element.
 4. The electronic vaping device ofclaim 3, wherein the processor is configured to executecomputer-readable instructions to determine at least one of the firstduty cycle and the second duty cycle based on a type of pre-vaporformulation within a reservoir.
 5. The electronic vaping device of claim1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to executecomputer-readable instructions to obtain an indicator level from alookup table based on the determined duty cycle ratio; and adjust thelevel indicator according to the obtained indicator level.
 6. Theelectronic vaping device of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes aplurality of level indicator segments.
 7. The electronic vaping deviceof claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to executecomputer-readable instructions to increase an amount of indicatorsegments that receive power in proportion to the determined duty cycleratio.
 8. The electronic vaping device of claim 6, wherein the at leastone processor is configured to execute computer-readable instructions todecrease an amount of indicator segments that receive power inproportion to the determined duty cycle ratio.
 9. The electronic vapingdevice of claim 6, further comprising: a reservoir configured to containa pre-vapor formulation, and wherein the processor is configured toexecute computer-readable instructions to provide power to the pluralityof level indicator segments in an amount proportional to an amount ofdecrease in the pre-vapor formulation in the reservoir.
 10. Theelectronic vaping device of claim 1, wherein the level indicator isbacklit.
 11. The electronic vaping device of claim 1, wherein the levelindicator includes an electronic paper film.
 12. A vaporizer assemblyfor an electronic vaping device, the vaporizer assembly comprising: aheating element; a level indicator; and at least one processorconfigured to execute computer-readable instructions to determine a dutycycle ratio based on power supplied to the heating element; and adjustthe level indicator based on the determined duty cycle ratio.
 13. Thevaporizer assembly for the electronic vaping device of claim 12, whereinthe determined duty cycle ratio is based on a first duty cycle of powersupplied to the heating element and a second duty cycle of powersupplied to the heating element.
 14. The vaporizer assembly for theelectronic vaping device of claim 12, wherein the at least one processoris configured to execute computer-readable instructions to obtain anindicator level from a lookup table based on the determined duty cycleratio; and adjust the level indicator according to the obtainedindicator level.
 15. The vaporizer assembly for the electronic vapingdevice of claim 12, wherein the indicator includes a plurality of levelindicator segments.
 16. The vaporizer assembly for the electronic vapingdevice of claim 15, further comprising: a reservoir configured tocontain a pre-vapor formulation, and wherein the processor is configuredto execute computer-readable instructions to provide power to theplurality of level indicator segments in an amount proportional to anamount of decrease in pre-vapor formulation in the reservoir.
 17. Thevaporizer assembly for the electronic vaping device of claim 12, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to execute computer-readableinstructions to decrease power to the indicator in proportion to thedetermined duty cycle ratio.
 18. The vaporizer assembly for theelectronic vaping device of claim 12, wherein the at least one processoris configured to execute computer-readable instructions to increasepower to the indicator in proportion to the determined duty cycle ratio.19. The vaporizer assembly for the electronic vaping device of claim 12,wherein the level indicator includes an electronic paper film.
 20. Thevaporizer assembly for the electronic vaping device of claim 12, whereinthe level indicator is backlit.